A lot of players comer here and think that by throwing up their speedtest or pingtest scores they are proving something about the game. When in all reality you are not proving anything at all. And there is one major reason why. Those tests run by pingtest and speedtest test your tcp connection not your udp connection. This game does not use tcp connections to connect you to other players it uses udp. Tcp has error correction protocols that help adjust for lost packets and jitter and other things that udp does not do. So no matter how well your score or grade is on those tests it really means nothing since those scores are only for your tcp connections which are not used in game play itself.

Plus speedtest means nothing, since your overall bandwdith means nothing, this game does not now or ever use the full bandwidth which is what the speedtest shows you. So does not matter if you have a 100down 50up with a grade of A or anything since that test is only related to your tcp connection quality and not your udp connection quality.

And pingtest in not accurate either, since it once again deals with tcp ping and not udp ping and the two and different. The quailty and stability betweent the two are not the same. So any result that only shows your tcp connection quality really means nothing since the game does not use tcp connections when playing.

Oh one bit of information you need to know too. What those tests show is how well your laptop/desktop is doing and those numbers have no correlation to how well the console does when it connects. Just because your laptop/desktop gets a grade A+ or anything like taht does not mean the console is doing just as good. So once more trying to use those to justify your connection or lag or quality of game is pointless.

Plus you have to take into consideration if your isp is blocking udp ports or throttleing udp connections which many do with out ever telling you. They do this because udp is the protocol used most often for file sharing through bittorrent applications. So during heavy traffic times they throttle udp connections to limit the affects it has on their overall bandwidth they are trying to support for everyone on their network.

Another little tidbit of information; do you realize that most ips have oversold their conecction quality and bandwidth in most areas and that the isp is actually not capable of properly supporting the demand being playced upon those connections by everyone trying to use them when they do.

Now lets talk about consoles and the connection and the router. Not everyone that plays this game has their console wired, and yes wireless will add in some lag especially if the router is clear across the house from the console as in many homes. Not everyone has the router in the same room or just one room away. Plus not everyone uses a high quality router that is fully compatable with the xbox and xbl service. And this can and does cause connection quality issues too. Many of the routers sold by most ips are not fully compatable with xbl or the xbox so that will add in lag or other problems. They are only meant for normal internet use and not for gaming. Gaming is not considered normal internet use by most isp's.

So you add up all of these and there is no real possible way to ever really know what the full problem is for everyone. Since all it takes is you getting matched to a lobby of people playing wireless with the router in the basement and your game will suffer.

One other thing I forogot to add is doing a test 5 hours ago and then saying that is how well your connection is doing is also a false assumption. Your connection changes all the time. So just because you got that one test at that one time does not mean that is how well you are doing all the time.

Plust never just test to one server or the same server or one that is only 100 miles or less from you. Always test to at least 10+ servers with at least 100-500 mile radius from you. In other words do multiple tests at various ranges. Never lest the test choose your test isp ever, for it will always test the one closestly too your for the best possible results which is not really an accurate representation of your connection in all cases.

Plus never use a test that you did a day ago or a week ago as any validation on anything ever. Always do a fresh test to get the most recent results.

But then again none of this really matters since that is only tcp connections being tested and the game does not use tcp, it uses udp connections which are not tested by those tests.

some good info. thanks, can you tell us what to look out for that can help with the issues most people are having.

From what I have read, it sounds to me like the core problem is something to do with the smoothing code that has been added.

I am not an expert, but I know I have tried all the recommended stuff to do with port forwarding, using wired connection etc etc... so far nothing has really sold the issue.

when i compare my experience to that of cod4 or mw2, it's very different.. yet my connection has not changed. Indeed how this game played for me within the first week or two of launch and how it plays for me now is very different and again, nothing has changed my end. so what really is the root of the problem ? And how do we solve it ?

Unfortunately I do not have that answer if I did I could sell it to 3arc/IW and be rich enough not to worry about the problem anymore.

Some of the problem is with lag compensation, but that was not added it has always been in the game, just was tweaked differently at one point I would guess.

It may not be all on your side, it could be the isp itself, it could be the connection between you and the isp such as a line problem. Or the isp oversold your location and thus you get the short end of teh stick at times.

Your connection in general has not changed but your isp and its connection has. With more people getting connections and the isp probably not upgrading all teh wires and services it causes issues that the developers have no control over.

Plus the older games did not have nearly as much going on in them, there was no theater, there was no elite, there was no facebook. Plus the number of streaks allowed at one time or another was lower

Plus the graphics was not the same as it is in todays game, the current console is runninng pretty much at max capabilities where the older games probably did not stress it as much.

So there is no one simple all around fix that will ever work for everyone.

Short of teh entire world living in one house and everyone connected through lan.

Yes, the old games also use UDP packets. The old games prior to black ops 1 all play fine 100% of the time. You will occasionally see people warping, but they are easy to kill and are not in god mode and sponging bullets. It really blows his whole theory of the problem being with UDP packets out of the water. It is more likely an issue with smoothing, lag compensation and synchronization stemming from connectivity to theater, youtube, and facebook. It is easy to prove that UDP packets are not the problem by putting in MW2 or earlier. I want to see someone prove my theory wrong.

Actually there is a way to see what harm the facebook connection is doing. Here is an experiment you can try.............When you notice you are host in a multiplayer game, after the game starts, click your start button, then click the "Y" button. This will bring up the friends menu. Using the "RB" button scroll across to the facebook tab on the menu. Go back and forth using the "LB" and "RB" over the facebook tab. Evertime you re-highlight the facebook tab the game freezes for 2 to 3 seconds causing a huge lag spike for everyone playing the game. If you do it too many times, it will kick you from the game and migrate the host position. It also re-syncronizes the game and you get varied results as host.

I agree, It is a strange coincidence that so many experience the same problems with Black Ops 2. I don't care if Cod 4 runs perfectly, or that mw2 has perfect hit detection, this is 2013 and this game doesn't have the same online requirements as those earlier ones. I'm sure neither of those games uses UDP either. Any help on that one Trial? My advise is to downgrade your internet and dig up that router from 2007. Remember it's your fault.